Senator Hocker Talks Marriage Equality

Said Senator Hocker yesterday. …

“I don’t think you can redefine marriage when God is the one who defined marriage, as between one man and one woman. Some people say well I don’t believe that! You might as believe nothing, not to believe that! I believe God’s word is infallible; it was inspired by God. You believe everything in it or believe nothing! Why take those pages and tear them out,because you don’t believe them? God defined marriage. Man is now saying we don’t believe what God has defined and we want to change it. For man to redefine something that God was very clear defining.. God will win.

“I have gay/lesbians working for me, family members, close family members, my wife has them as close family members, I don’t hold anything against them, but don’t ask me to go against God for something that they feel is equality….. “

Which reminded me of someone else:

“But there is higher authority for the determination of this question, than any thing we have yet suggested. The existence of domestic Slavery was expressly allowed, sanctioned, and regulated by the Supreme Lawgiver, in that divine economy which He gave the Hebrew state. The fact is open and undisputed; the record and proof of it are in the hands of every man who has in his possession a copy of the Bible. All the ingenuity and art of all the Abolitionists in the United States can never destroy the necessary conclusion of this admitted divine sanction of Slavery, that it is an institution which may lawfully exist, and concerning which Governments may pass laws, and execute penalties for their evasion or resistance.“

“You believe everything in the Bible or believe nothing!” said Hocker.

Rape = Republicans

At first such a headline sounds trite and unthoughtful. Oh, it’s the simple linking of two words to forge a relationship. The proper name for that inside the English Language, is zeugma, a term borrowed from the Greeks.

But there appears to be something there. From a woman’s point of view, rape has been in the news a lot lately. And I don’t mean the physical reporting of actual rapes, they seem to be less than in the past. But the philosophical discussion about rape, has almost dominated the political discussions across this political season.

We have offensive laws proposed requiring wands inserted by strangers up into ones vagina.
We have the Akins physical slip of legitimizing rape in some circumstances.
We have the Bodenweiser situation here in Delaware. As if by being extremely religious, he was beyond reproach.
We have the Murdoch debate from last night. Rape is protected by God.

They show a crack in the Republican armor.

When confronted, the wiggle and try to hide what they meant, which was that rape is a “so what” type of crime.

Here are some of the responses Republicans bring up when confronted by this acceptance of rape as a normal human attribute.

Rapes happen.
She asked for it.
She should have kept herself locked up.
It’s just sex.
She’s lying. She wanted it too.

And if she gets pregnant.

It’s god’s child, not hers.
It’s life; we have to preserve life; the mother is unimportant.
It’s ok to rape if a man wants sex and a woman doesn’t.
The woman is required to be submissive to the man.
She must keep the child, because God is punishing her, and the child is her cross to bear.

I don’t know how many of you sit in cross examinations. But most of you have seen fake ones on television dramas. They are not alike, trust me, but there is one things that reigns true over both. If someone is trying to hide something from you, they don’t come right out and tell you.

Instead you have to look at the peripheral, and use questioning tactics to force them to explain anomalies from their story. What is buried internally, invariably slips out. Then, forcing them to explain those things eventually uncovers that which they are working so hard to hide.

It is safe to say, that the Republican Party has no concern for women. They will use women, but they do not have any concern. It is a man’s world in the Republican Party. And as long as a woman supports the notion that woman must be submissive to man, and she wins votes, she can be a part of that party…..

Is it ok to rape?

Look at the bigger picture.

Rape of the Budget Surplus put in place by Clinton.
Rape of people’s property rights under eminent domain.
Rape of animals rights encouraging wanton killing.
Rape of the earth’s resources, putting profits ahead of cleaning up after themselves.
Rape of Earth’s Climate; encouraging Global Warning.

There is a tendency for Republicans to rape everything they get their hands on.
Look at the rape of Republican Chris Christie’s New Jersey Budget.
Look at the rape of Tea Party’s Rick Scott of Florida’s budget.
Look at the rape of Koch’s Scott Walker, of Wisconsin’s ones prosperous financial health.
Look at the rape of Ronald Reagan’s use of borrowed money to fund his bounce back economic times.

And then contrast that, to the healthy building of mutual sustaining policies that benefit everyone whenever Democrats have full power…..

If Republicans = Rape, then Democrats = Long, lasting, happy marriages…….

Don’t take my word for it. Skim any newspaper.

America Is “Breaking Bad”

There was a moment, when after the magnets had done their job, and the police are sorting though the residue on the floor, they pick up a photo picture, and notice something missed before, an address with names..

I felt “OH NO!”. especially after the high of seeing the lap top was beyond repair.

I noticed my teenage daughter cringe at the same time as well.

And that’s when it hit me. Our youth is being taught to sympathize with bad guys.

It is no wonder when shots ring out in Wilmington tomorrow morning, that even thought witnesses were present, no one saw a thing.

Really, when watching that show, which Jason mentioned was the best on television, who do YOU empathize with?

After our generation is dead, this nation I’m afraid is in for some dark days.

Let’s hope that outlook changes after the Dark Knight Rises.….

For Those Who Follow DelawarePolitics.Net

I’m trying to put all your ideas together into one package. So, let me get this right… All you are asking is for, is a country where:

1) There is no universal healthcare.
2) Few entitlement programs.
3) Low Flat Tax System.
4) Faith based Government.
5) A deep reverence for God.
6) Extremely strict rules against abortion.
7) Marriage has already been strictly defined as between man and woman.
8) Homosexuality is a sin, and illegal.
9) Dress Codes are strictly enforced.
10) Tattoos, piercings, baggy pants, are banned.
11) Has the Death Penalty which they aren’t shy about using.
12) Strong private school system with religious focus.
13) Widespread dependency on oil and natural gas drilling.
14) Growing nuclear program
15) Nonexistent environmental nuisances
16) Culture that promotes family and stereotyped roles for men and women.

I’ve endeavored to put all your values on one page. I share your frustration because today, ever since 2008, it seems like America is moving further and further away from these values.

But you don’t have to be frustrated anymore. I have looked far and wide and have discovered a place already in existence that has those values in place, and more. If you sorely long for those values above, it is sincerely a place where you and your family would be very happy.

It is Iran.

You don’t have to pay me. I don’t need any commission. Just glad to help a fellow Delawarean out…. No problem.

Who YOU Beating Up Now? Huh?

Here is the blog that has been quoted recently by the mainstream press, especially after the video went viral, and they had to scramble to cover up the fact they originally tried to whitewash the incident.

“DUMB COLLEGE KIDS”, the right wing pundits squeal…

Not so…

Try an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, who organized the peaceful demonstration.

Or try an Associate Professor of English, who was grabbed by her hair, thrown on the ground.

Or try Associate Professor Geoffrey O’Brien who was injured by baton blows.

or try Professor Robert Hass, former Poet Laureate of the United States, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner, who was also struck with a baton.

I wonder how this child’s mom feels right now: One of them, forty-five minutes after being pepper-sprayed down his throat, was still coughing up blood.

Or the dad who was there, bedside, to welcome this bundle of joy into the world.

Or the Grandparents of these children… When students covered their eyes with their clothing, police forced open their mouths and pepper-sprayed down their throats.

What’s the point? What were you trying to prove, Mr Rogue Policeman? Ohhhhh, that you were sooooooooo tough… I bet all the women flock to you now, don’t they?

What were you trying to prove, Chancellor Katehi? That you have an iron will? Or that you didn’t care? You had to appease the wealthy donors. The tents were such an eyesore and had to be removed, even with the potential for a loss of life?

What were you trying to prove, Republicans? Cutting taxes. Underfunding institutions of learning. Trimming school budgets so the wealthy wouldn’t have to pay their fair share of the cost of living in American society…

Go ahead. Save them a couple of pennies…. Beat the student’s senseless.. Fill their lungs with pepper spray… Ram their lower abdomens with your batons. Make them unable to ever bear children…. Do it for your wealthy master. All so millionaires can save one more penny on the dollar they’ve already taken from us…

Oh, no… Wait… Why didn’t we think of that before… If you kill us all off now, you won’t get back your student loans we borrowed from you at those exorbitant amounts of interest you so graciously parted your money for….

Tomorrow’s Senate Debt Ceiling Crises Vote….

60 required…

53 Democrats…
-1 Joe Manchin D-WV X
-1 Kay Hagen D NC X
-1 Mark Pryor D AR X
-1 Bernie Sanders VT
-1 Debbie Stabenow MI X

48 Democrats for…

Republicans:

+1 Susan Collins ME
+1 Scott Brown MA
+1 Mitch McConnell KY
+1 Olympia Snowe ME
+1 Lisa Murkowske AK
+1 Mark Kirk IL
+1 Kay Bailey Hutchinson
+1 Lamar Alexander TN
+1 Bob Corker TN
+1 John McCain AZ
+1 Charles Grassley IA X
+1 Richard Lugar IN
+1 Saxby Chambliss AL X
+1 Tom Coburn OK X
+1 Mike Crapo ID
+1 Lindsey Graham SC X
+1 Orin Hatch UT X
+1 John Kyl AZ
+1 Jeff Sessions AL X

I calling 67 votes for passage.

Missed some: Those in italics I got wrong. I miscalculated and guessed that the older ones, the dinosaurs, would be more inclined to cross party lines to forge a compromise, knowing the severity of default. They were the holdouts. I missed that entirely. Most of the freshmen fell in line with the spirit of cooperation… All in all, 7 Democrats voted against their president. 28 Republicans fell in behind their president.

States to watch, ones with both senators voting for default…. Alabama, Iowa, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Utah. Don’t drink any water imported from these five states.

Why I Read The Foreign Press Instead of The Crap Found In American Ones

I’m printing this article in full: tell me, where in America can you find journalism this “fair and balanced”?

Another crisis in the horizon?

A | A | A |
Winarno Zain, Jakarta | Tue, 07/19/2011 7:00 AM A | A | A |

It seems the world economy has faced endless threats preventing it from sailing smoothly into a strong recovery this year.

First there was the Greek debt crisis that jolted several major banks, and then a political uprising in the Middle East that pushed up oil prices, and then a tsunami in Japan that disrupted manufacturing activities in many countries.

The world economy has not fully dusted off the adverse impacts of these three events. Yet another headwind is looming large on the horizon. This time it is the possible default of the US government of its debt on Aug. 2, if the US Congress fails to approve an increase to its debt ceiling as requested by President Barack Obama. By that date, the US government debt would have reached its maximum allocated limit of US$14.3 trillion.

The current negotiation between representatives of Democratic and Republican parties on the US budget deficit has run into a deadlock, and so the possibility is real that there won’t be any substantial agreements reached, since the dateline is nearing. Major rating agencies such as Standard and Poor, and Moody’s have warned they are ready to downgrade the US government debt rating from top grade AAA.

This would be the first time in 90 years that the US government debt has been downgraded.

It is not hard to imagine what will happen if by Aug. 2 the US government has exhausted its credit ceiling and can not get additional debt to pay for its spending needs.

The US government would have to curb its spending, and because some of these relate to payments to government employees, pensioners and other social benefits, this would strike a severe blow to the consumer spending that is so essential to the US economic recovery.

With debt default and credit rating downgrades, it would be difficult for the US government to get loans. Faced with increasing risk, investors would ask for higher returns for US government bonds. This would push interest rate higher, further depressing the economic recovery.

The US dollar would plunge, triggering a surge in commodity prices and another round of inflation around the world. A deadly combination of inflation and economic stagnation could spin the world economy into a tailspin as happened in the early 1970’s.

How would this worst case scenario affect the Indonesian economy? As capital flows out of the US, investors have tended to seek safe havens elsewhere. Commodities, especially gold and oil, would be their first targets. Emerging markets could be the next destination of this capital flight, depending on the assessment of investors on the strength of its economy and their vulnerability and exposure to the US economic fallout.

But financial crises always result in a loss of confidence and produce negative sentiments in the financial markets. They put financial markets into disarray, and as investors panic, capital starts flowing out of emerging economies.

During the global financial crisis in 2008-2009, capital moved out from emerging economies back to the advanced economies. At that time, the US government bonds and commodities like gold were considered safe havens.

If the US government defaults on its debt payment this time, the question is will the situation change? Will the US government bonds still be considered a safe haven for investors? If not, then where else will they put their money? Or maybe they would prefer to keep their money in the same place and not move it anywhere. If so, the Indonesian economy could get some benefit and may not have to face another shock.

In the longer term, however, the situation may change. No country is immune to the negative ripples of a US economic crisis. As US imports plunge from weakening domestic demand, exports from emerging countries will also suffer. The extent to which these negative impacts affect each country will depend on their trading and banking exposure to the US economy.

What is disturbing about this debt talk is the use of this debate as a political game. This is especially apparent in the Republican stance.

Economist, market analyst and CEOs of financial institutions and even the IMF itself have warned that if Congress fails to raise the ceiling of the US government debt, the world economy would slip into deep recession.

The Republicans did not fully accept Obama’s proposal to raise the debt ceiling. They only agree on a smaller number, but even it was given with some conditions. The Republicans asked Obama not to raise taxes, especially for the wealthy, and Obama should cut social spending, a sacred cow for the Democrats.

By using tit for tat tactics in the negotiation and by seemingly ignoring the impending consequences and dangers, the Republicans were trying to push Obama into an intricate political dilemma.

If the US economy slip into another crisis, economic contraction would be inevitable. Corporate bankruptcies would spread, and jobless rate would surge.

A presidential election is still slightly more than one year away, and Obama’s reelection prospects are solid. But his popularity rating is highly dependent on the unemployment rate. That is why the Republicans think the only way for them to erode Obama’s popularity now is by pushing the US economy into crisis.

As the stakes are high, the two political parties should temporarily set aside their ideologies and adopt a pragmatic stance for the interests of saving the world economy from another catastrophe.

President Obama demonstrated his willingness to compromise his political ideology during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. Being a Democrat, Obama’s political inclination is generally anti-big business.

Obama realized that it was reckless lending by some big banks on Wall Street that triggered the financial crisis. But he also realized that saving these banks from bankruptcy was key to saving the world economy from further disaster.

His decision to pour $800 billion of taxpayer’s money to bail out these banks was hard to swallow by his fellow party members, but it worked. Now it is expected that the Republicans will be willing to do likewise.

The writer is an economist.

Bristol Palin Eats Salad

Bristol Palin and a friend go for lunch at McDonald’s where she eats a salad on Wednesday (September 29) in Los Angeles.

The 19-year old was recently at an Anchorage bar where her Dancing with the Stars partner Mark Ballas performed. However, the Palin family attorney says that Bristol was with two people over 21, ate food and did not consume any alcohol.

(Point is: I give up ) If no one else wants to talk about the issues, especially when it comes to Christine O’Donnell, then why should I bother. Apparently our children’s future will be decided by what our candidates eat. not by what they say, do, or to whom they owe money…

Has anyone talked about O’Donnell’s platform? No?

We vote in 31 days.

Get Mad!

There were seven fights today at Shue-Medill Middle School on Kirkwood Highway. The Christina School District is responsible for that location…

Due to privacy restrictions details are sketchy, but this is what we do know…

Seven Fights in one school of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders… Why? Report cards went out last Friday. The physical parental responses to some of them, no doubt pushed these kids over the edge.

One took place in a math class. The math teacher (female) at great harm to herself, stepped in, broke it up, ending it by dragging the 7th grade perpetrator, a known bully, in a headlock down the hall… Hopefully after turning the corner, out of sight, she body-slammed his head three or four times into the one of the concrete walls..

But the most disgraceful, took place in the cafeteria, at a special event honoring those students who made the honor roll this past marking period… Into the event walks a previously suspended student, who previously had to be pulled off a school bus for threatening to kill the bus driver… Yes, seventh grade… Honor roll? Not even close…

She walks up to a seventh grade female student, and says… (of course) “You’re sitting in my seat.” Now this entire event could have been prevented had the girl gotten up from sitting with her friends who she had handpicked to have around her, and moved to another spot. Instead, she politely said… “Sorry, no thanks. I’m sitting here..” The bully says: “I going to fucking strangle you. I’m going to beat the shit out of you!” Without warning, she slams her little seventh grade face into the table, grabs her long auburn hair, pulls her backwards off the bench on to the floor and begins stomping the body. She stomps the body from one end to the other, ending at the face… The screams of the victim are horrendous. Innocent mouths are frozen open while the violence takes place. No adult yet moves to interfere. Knowing that she has more time, the bully jumps up, bends her knees, and drops her entire body weight onto the, by now, whimpering body laying listless on the floor. With fists one fourth the size of her victim’s small head, she begins pounding all her force into the facial regions… By now there is no resistance.. The beating continues unabated for quite a few minutes. After eternity, with only icy silence responding to each bone breaking blow, the bully grabs the hair and begins dragging the body down the floor between the tables… Showing off her trophy…. The victim was reported to have blood flowing out of both her eyes.

It happened this afternoon…

The previous incident involving this bully, involved this same girl beating up three Hispanic children on a schoolbus, causing the bus to stop, a school crises official to arrive, and only because of an outside concerned parents call, were the police called… The police quickly resolved the issue, putting the girl in handcuffs and taking her away.

So why was she allowed back in school?

So why was no adult monitoring the honor student event?

So why did seven fights take place in one day at Shue- Medill Middle School: a school of only sixth, seventh, and eighth graders?

There is only one omnipresent reason….

Yes, yes… I know there will be some out there who say it’s the schools fault… After all, they are the most easily sued to reclaim damages…. But anyone working, visiting, or who happens to assist as a family member in that school, cannot without putting superglue on their tongue, forever adhering it to the inside of their cheek, say that school officials are at fault… Today was an aberration; one day out of almost fifty school days so far. Forty nine of those days they got things right….. We have to remember that fact as our blood boils over…. Forty nine days they got things right…

Yes, yes… I know there will be those, especially who deal with school kids on a daily basis, who say it’s the parents fault… They have a lot going for their argument. You can’t teach a hungry kid. You can’t teach an emotionally disturbed kid. You can’t teach a drug addicted kid. You can’t teach a kid who never receives love from a parent… You just can’t do it in a classroom setting…

In going down the road of public education, we decided that our society as a whole benefited better from giving everyone opportunity to better themselves, instead of limiting that opportunity to just a few children with wealthy parents.. If you look at the large picture, that was probably the proper avenue to take. Of course when you buy apples by the bag instead of the hand picking ones off the display, you will most likely encounter a couple of rotten ones… And what do you do with a rotten apple? Put it back in the sun to ripen?

Ah, yes, yes, there will be those who will blame the system. They say it’s our school system, our Department of Education, or lack of it that drove us down this path… Segregation and its subsequent desegregation policies ruined New Castle County schools above the canal. That is fact. Those of us growing up through neighborhood schools, can certainly sense the futility a very young child must feel to be abandoned on a bus and shipped fifteen miles away, far from the reach of anyone whom he could call for help if subject to something say like ….. the threats of a bully. Also cutting back the amount of money spent on education so the state could buy up Garrison Lake Golf course or the MBNA buildings in downtown Wilmington a few years back, certainly didn’t help… Who knows? One extra dollar at the proper time could have changed that one bully’s perspective at an earlier point in life, making them choose to venture down a different path…. but then again, perhaps it couldn’t: one never knows for sure……However anyone with common sense knows that a system that dumbs down education to it’s lowest level in order to maximize the numbers of those that “get it”, unfortunately has some dumb people roaming its halls. Shouldn’t we be focused on educating our brightest to compete in a global economy, instead of holding them to the standards we adopted to get the most people through our doors with a diploma? There is a lot of credence to saying it’s the system’s fault…

So of the three, whose fault is it?

It is to some extent, yours. But most of all, it is mine…

I never realized it until today… For until everybody cares, the same stuff will go on… Everyone involved in today’s educational environment, is just simply trying to survive. Sticking their head out, is dangerous to their careers. And you and I put them out there with no support, no backing, and most of all when they flounder, we yell at them, especially if it is not their fault!… The most we ever do is mutter a “tsk tsk.”, call for a firing, yell silly slogans at a school board meeting, or post our outrage for public perusal… But none of us take any direct responsibility… Myself included… Today I’m sick I didn’t intervene a month ago. I had the means; but not the will. It seemed like overkill then.

Today’s event could have been prevented… In fact, with appropriate action, most of today’s school violence COULD be prevented… Not however by enforcing the law… but by handling such situation, outside the law… It’s time to rethink our values here.

99.99% of school bullying is caused by students who are abused by their parents… Yeah. 99.99% of you reading this had decent parents. You don’t know what it feels like at age 7 to take the full brunt of punches from your drunken father.. You don’t know what having to perform oral sex on a family member does to your value system. You don’t know now, do you? Fortunately I don’t either. But one can see that anyone coming from this environment has nothing to fear from walking into a crowded room and beating the shit out of a random target. One can see, that brutalizing a tiny little girl, can be seen as the preferable course of action, especially if it’s parental approval staves off one beating that week, when one gets home….

How can we blame a little kid who comes from such an environment? Even as enlightened as we think we are, as a society we are pretty stupid when it comes to such handling of real life situations…

Here is how our own national history shows us how it can be fixed….

A band of thirty, to a hundred concerned masked Shue-Medill parents, each carrying AK-47′s, handguns, shotguns, grenades, knives, or anything else protected under the second amendment, all show up armed to the teeth at the house of the parents of this bully… Using some old one by fours, sprinkled with kerosene, they construct a structure in the shape of an apple ( for teachers) and ignite it… Armed roadblocks are set up around the perimeter to keep local police informed so they stay away.

The spokesman then calls the parent out for a conversation… The parent always comes out, choosing whether to come before or after he is given the option of having his house set afire. The parent is allowed a short time to persuade the rabble that he will personally insure that his kid does not beat up another single person. The parent is given a short time to comprehend the consequences of what will happen to him or her if their child does not follow directions… The listening rabble then makes a collective decision that has a life-or-death consequence for that parent…

THAT is an “effective” solution.. THAT fixes the problem… THAT should have been done the first time this bully made her first mark. So who were those masked people who broke the law? Hmmmm. No one seems to know …….. Guess they can’t be prosecuted then….

Yes, there are other methods to be considered. Walking up behind the unsuspecting parent and slamming a baseball bat into the back of his medulla… Driving by their house and emptying thirty five rounds…. Pouring gasoline and setting a match to their car…. However, these are only effective if a direct correlation gets be made between the compensatory violence, and the action taken by that parent upon their child… But each of these alternatives, lacks the chill of realizing just how perverted our society sees that parent’s actions.. Each of these minor alternatives yields to a “tit for tat”, and instead stopping the violence they almost justify the escalation of it, simply because the parent himself (who has always thought he’s above the law anyway), now feels he has become the victim….

The idea is to stop parents from beating their children… To be clear, I’m not talking about spanking. I’m talking about leaving a child unconscious on the floor. Our government is stymied and under current law, cannot be effective at prevention.. It is effective prosecuting the death of the child.. As citizens, by taking direct action like the one mentioned above, by going beyond the incapacity of the law, we can get results …

Does it work?

The effectiveness of such actions can be seen anytime police investigate crimes between 4th and 30th Streets in Wilmington…The criminal element uses these tactics effectively to suppress tattling. No one ever sees anything up there… Must have more fog than London….

So if we impose a tremendous and costly price for beating or molesting a child, then begin to take effective steps to stop that action. And if that action stops, then those children do not have to take their suppressed rage on unsuspecting kids who always happen to be much smaller than themselves….

Are you mad? Then ask yourself what you have done lately? Nothing? How then can you blame others when you yourself have not raised a little finger?

Like me, you are the problem… Today we wake up. It’s time we do something.

Pray for us.

Abomination

Every hearing for HB 5 is packed with Sussex County citizens carrying Skittle colored Bibles hollering out the word “abomination“. Now I thought I knew what that word meant, but seeing unsettled people calling the right of all people to be considered equal under law an “abomination”, kind of threw me..

Seriously! How could the very principals outlining our Declaration of Independence and embodied within the framework of our Constitution, be considered an abomination? Were these people really some fractured part of Al Qaeda and why were they truly working the same side? As silly as that sounds, if one just follows the train of thought that these people always throw out whenever a microphone is pointed towards their mouth, that is exactly correct.

Both are fighting the great Satan and see that embodiment walking around within the confines of our own government….

(The following is in code: wise people can figure it out, stupid people can’t. I figured that to discuss sensitive subjects, it was wise to keep them out of reach of Google so that young impressionable readers lacking the maturity to fathom the depth of the arguments, don’t visit.)

Those protesting HB 5 who call it an abomination, pretend they are Christians. They are not. They are Jews. They follow the Old Testament version of Jewish law and have not adequately made the adjustment that Jesus so willingly gave his life up to teach us…

For if one wants to crystallize and pull the essence of Jesus’s message out of the four gospels, one could simply characterize it in two words: “Love” and “Respect”. Those are what Jesus was sent to teach. Everyone who has run across John 3:16, knows that Jesus’ raison d’etre was to physically show that God so loved the world, that he sent his only son, to die, so that all could live..

Let’s focus on that thought for a second. What is “real love”. Right now, if you personally had within this one second to choose: would you choose to give your life up for your child or spouse? If you had only that split second to choose, would you instinctively give yourself up to protect them so they could live?

After years of struggling with this question myself, I have come up with some parameters that may help guide one’s answer. If you truly love your child or spouse more than you do yourself, you will. Absolutely. But if you love yourself more than you do your child… then you won’t… This impossibly complicated answer, … is really just that simple.

But discussion about the “love factor” has been overdone. It is the “respect factor” which provides a more intriguing aspect of Jesus’ teaching. And if one looks, there is to be found a big difference between what Jesus teaches about homosexuality between men, and what the old testament happens to say… Jesus never, never, never, and never mentions homosexuality.

For you see, Jesus was huge on respect, even to the point of showing respect to one’s enemies or opponents. His well documented rage aimed at the Temple moneychangers, was over the desecration of their respect for God, which they accomplished by their turning His place of worship into a profit oriented market place…. His message to them, was: if you don’t respect God even in his own house; THEN GET OUT! On that he was very clear.

Respect was always important to Jesus. “Give unto Ceasar (the government), that which is Caesar’s (the governments). Give to God, what is God’s.” He carried the analogy one step further… “If a Centurion forces one to carry his pack one mile, request to take it two miles”… Justify your own existence by showing thy enemy some token measure of respect.

Yes, Jesus was big on respect. That is why it is fair to say, that those who bring their Bibles into Legislative Hall to loudly thump, and then chant repeatedly like Gregorians, “abomination”, “abomination”, “abomination”, and continuously castigate those who have a slightly wider sexual preference than they themselves adhere to,…… actually cast a bigger abomination towards the name of Jesus, than do those who genuinely love each other as man and wife, but just happen to be of the same gender…

This flip-flop of the word abomination, actually makes good sense. For if Jesus respected Caesar, if Jesus respected the harlot about to be stoned, if Jesus respected the outcast Samaritans, if Jesus even gave up a singular measure of respect to the demon who departed the man possessed, and then leaped into a herd of wild pigs sending them over a cliff, … and especially, i mean especially if those frightened followers of Jesus, respected and took in a man formerly called Saul, who had smilingly condemned and then held the cloak of the first Christian martyr Stephan, even as tossed rocks split open his skull allowing it’s contents to leak into the soil below …. then it is quite improbable that anyone avowing hatred, wrath, disgust, anger, and above all, disrespect… towards people of the same gender who just simply want a little legal protection to love each other… are truly Christians.

FOR THEY ARE NOT FOLLOWING THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS. They are following some earlier words of men…. And from our own perspective offered in our own lifetime, when we can look towards the Middle East and see their Muslim religion in primitive contrast to our worldly view… we see how simple minded men sometimes take up behaviors which benefit them, and wrap them up someway in god’s name to give it sanctity. For example, legalized rape by a husband of his wife in the Muslim world, is a case in point. No merciful God would condone such behavior. That is a ruling strictly made for, and made by, horny men.

So which is the truer abomination? A small piece of Jewish law decided by committee? Or the disrespect of the actual teachings of Jesus himself? Most true Christians are taught that the words of Jesus far outweigh the words of men.

So it brings a valid question to those about to cast their vote on HB 5. Do they too bring disrespect on Jesus himself by voting to allow the continuance of discrimination based only on sexual preference? Are they not equal to the Taliban, using some strict interpretation of religion, to impose a hardship upon and over another citizen?

Yes they are.

Which means that Tony DeLuca, Thurman Adams, Bob Venebles, Senator Bonini, Senator Bunting, Senator Cook, Senator Ennis, Senator Marshall, and Senator Gary Simpson, (if their legislative record even allows them access to the gates of Heaven), will surely have considerable trouble getting past the questions of Saint Peter who is guarding Heaven’s Gate.

Perhaps through him, God will say this to them: why should I not treat you the way you treated those children of mine who just happened to love people of the same gender as themselves? They loved… and your answer was what?

Abomination?

Well sorry Dudes and Dudettes! It was your own vote which cast your fate. These were my people hurting, my brothers, and my sisters. For they understood love, and how important love is to fight for, but of them you chose to NOT protect them and by doing so, imply they were inferior. I’m sorry but you cannot enter here until you are forgiven… And it’s hard to forgive someone who remains unrepentant…. To do so, would be an abomination of everything my Son was sent to teach…..

When you have the capacity to forgive them, … I will forgive you.

Amen.